Aerial conveyer.



R. WADDELL.

AERIAL CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED 020.11, 1913.

1,140,725. Patented May 25, 1915.

WITNESSES:

IN W5 A! TO]? 0666/10/1 ROBERT MDDELL rut NORRIS PErERs c0 PHOTD-LITHO WASHINGTON. D. L

UNITED STATES PATENT orrrc.

ROBERT WADDELL, F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR T0 WASHINGTON IRON WORKS COMPANY, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

AERIAL CONVEYEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed. December 11, 1913. Serial No. 805,898.

To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, ROBERT WADDELL, a subject of the King of England, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial Conveyers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in aerial trams or conveying apparatus, and has for its object the provision of means of simple-construction for conveying loads up or down steep grades upon a stretched cable and the devices for automatically connecting and releasing said loads at predetermined points for loading and unloading.

The invention consists in the novel construction of a carriage and the means for securing the load thereto, the combination of securing and releasing devices therewith and the adaptation of parts and devices, as will be fully described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and finally set forth in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus embodying'my invention with a side plate thereof removed. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the same in another operative position. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the invention. Fig. 4 is a pictorial view illustrating the manner in which the devices are employed.

Referring to said views, the reference numeral l designates the standing cable usually arranged on an incline and anchored at its opposite ends to supports 2 in any suitable manner. Upon this cable runs a carriage 3 consisting of metal side plates 4 spaced apart and having upwardly extending straps 5 between which are journaled grooved rollers 6 which run upon the cable.

A knuckle member 7 is pivoted for vibratile movements at 8. between said plates and comprises a relatively heavy weighted lever arm 9 contacting with a stop pin 10 at the lower end of its vibratile travel. Upon the opposite side of said'pivot the knuckle is bifurcated at 7 to receive, and is pivotally connected at 11 to, an end of a pair of toggle members 12 and 13. The underside of said knuckle is formed with a hook 14 adapted to engage and support a pulley-block, as will be presently explained. A projecting catch 15 is also integrally formed upon said underside of the knuckle whose ofiice will also be explained hereinafter. Said toggle members 12 and 13 are hingedly connected together at 16 and the upper member is pivoted at 17 to the side plates. The upper toggle-member 13 consists of two parts positioned upon opposite sides of said member 12 and connected by the pin 18 intermediate its ends. The toggle-member 12 is formed with a forwardly extending lug to which at 19 a dog 20 is pivoted. Said dog protrudes beyond the front end of the carriage between spaced pin-stops 21 and terminates in a donwwardly directed hooked bill 22. Said member 12 is further provided with a notch 23 adapted to engage said pin 18 of the member 13 to limit the movement of said toggle members in the rearward direction.

24 indicates a pulley-block comprising side-plates 25 in which a sheave wheel 26 is journaled, side-straps 27 having a swivelhook 28 at its lower end and a pintle 29 at its upper opposite end adapted to be received by the hook 14.

A snubbing line 30 is connected at one end to a clevis 31 pivoted in the rearward end of the carriage and thence passed about said sheave 26 andover fair-leader pulley 32 in the carriage whence it extends over guidepulley 33 secured to one of said supports to the winding drum of a hoisting engine, indicated at 34.

Two stops 35 and 36 are respectively secured to the cable 1 at the top of the incline where the load is picked u and at the foot where the load is landed. aid stop 35 may consist of a body 37 fixedly clamped to the cable and formed with a dependent portion having at one end a pivotal connection 38 with a dog 39 and at the other with journalbearings for a roller 40. A lanyard 41 is threaded on said roller and connected near the free end of said dog 39. The latter is formed with an upwardly directed hookedend 42 to cooperate with the bill 22 of dog 20.

The stop 36 comprises a clamp 43 fixedly connected to the cable 1 and a separate dependent body 44 having two legs 45 swingingly connected to the cable upon opposite sides of said clamp and a forwardly extended arm 46 having a downwardly directed hook 47.

Numeral 48 indicates lateral outwardlyextending guides secured to the respective sideplates 4 for directing the block 24 mto engagement with the carriage. Forwardly and rearwardly positioned guides 49 and 50 are also provided for directing the pintle 29 into the hook 14. Upon the rearward end of the carriage are positioned guides 51 for directing the arm 46 into position within the carriage to be engaged by the catch 15.

The operation of the invention may be described as follows: Assuming that the carriage is at the lower end of the inclined cable 1 and in engagement with the stop 36 and having just deposited a load, as is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the lever arm 9 will be in its lowermost position and the catch 15 in engagement with the hook 47. A strainupon the snubbing line 30 by the engine 34 will not effect the forward progress of the carriage owing to the aforesaid engagement of the catch. 15 with the stop 36 butraises the empty block 24 into contact with the arm 9 of knuckle member 7 and vibrates said arm upwardly, causing the hook 14 to swing and engage the pintle 29 of the block and influence the toggle members 12 and 13 from their forward inoperative position, as indicated in Fig. 2, to their locking position, as shown in Fig. 1. The catch 15 is simultaneously unhooked from its connection with the hook 47 thus releasing the carriage as the block 24 is secured in its supporting hook 14.

Referring to Fig. 1, wherein the apparatus is shown in its operative condition when traveling from one end of the cable to the other, it will be seen that said toggle members have been deflected from their original position wherein their hinged connection 16 is positioned forwardly of their dead centers; that is to say, from a straight line drawn through the axes of their pivots 11' and 17 to a position slightly upon the opposite or rearward side of said line. In the desired rearward position of the toggles the notch 23 engages the pin 18 and secures said toggle members against further rearward movement and the latter forms a rigid bar between the pivot 17 and the bifurcated portion 7 of the knuckle member. Continued strains on the snubbing line 30 causes the forward motion of the carriage up the inclined cable 1. The carriage is drawn upwardly until the hook 22 of the dog 20 progresses beyond the hooked end 42 of the dog 89 which is in its operative position, asin dicated in Fig. 1. The line 30 is then slackened as by the release of the friction drum of the'engine upon whichline 30 is wound, and the gravity of the carriage 3 causes the latter to settle rearwardly upon the cable until the hook 22 engages hooked end 42 of the stop and pulls the toggle members 12 and 13 forwardly of said dead center line and causes them to fold together, whereupon the weight of the block will cause the knuckle member 7 to swingdownwardly, releasing the block from the hook 14. The

gravity, drawing out the line 30 from the loadv is. secured to the hook 28 of the block block 24 then descends from the carriage by V 24, snubbing line 80 is again wound in upon said friction drum which draws the block upwardly into engagement with'the knuckle member to hook the same in the manner described. When the load is thus secured to the carriage, the dog 20 is released from its engagement with the hook 42 by slacking the lanyard 41 which lowers the dog 39 to disengage the hook 22. The line 30 is thereupon paid out upon the frictiondrum topermit the carriage and its load to de-f scend the inclined cable 1 at the speed desired.

At the unloading end of the cable the stop 36 is located, which is adapted to bump the toggle members 12 and 13'at about their pivotal connection 16 throwing thesame forwardly into their inoperative position and releasing the block and load. As the knuckle member 7 performs this vibratile movement the catch 15 engages the hooked end 47 of the arm 46 and secures the car riage in its lowermost position on the cable until the block 24 is again brought into engagement therewith, as has been described. Having described my invention, what I claim, is

1. In an aerial conveyer, a carriage consisting in a pair of rigidly connected spaced side plates, a knuckle-member pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates and formed with a hook on its underside for supporting a load, a pair of toggle-members pivotally connected at one end to said plates and at their other end to said knuckle-member, their intermediate joint adapted to be flexed upon opposite sides of a straightline between their said end connections, and inter-engageable stops on said toggle-members for limiting the movement of said intermediate joint in one direction to secure the hook of said knucklemember'in load-supporting position.

2. In an aerial conveyer, a carriage consisting of a pair of rigidly connected spaced side plates, a' knuckle-member pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates and formed with ahook on its underside for supporting a load, a lever pivoted at one end to said knuckle-member, a link pivoted at one end to said plates and at its other end to said lever, and 'inter-engageable stops on said link and lever for limiting the movement of said lever and link to secure the hook of said knuckle .member in load-supv porting position.

3. In an aerial conveyer, a carriage'consisting of a pair of rigidly connected spaced side plates, a knuckle-member pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates'and formed with a hook on its underside for supporting a load, a lever pivoted at one end to said knuckle-member, a link pivoted at one end to said plates and at its other end to said lever, the pivot point of said lever and link being adapted to be flexed upon opposite sides of a straight line through their other pivot points, and interengageable stops on said link and said lever to limit the movement of said lever and link to secure the hook of said knuckle-member in load-supporting position.

4. In an aerial conveyor, a carriage consisting of two spaced side plates, a knucklemember pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates and formed with a hook for supporting a load, toggle-members connected at one end to said'plates and at their other end to said knuckle-member, and a dog pivoted to one of said toggle members and adapted to engage with a stop to releasably secure said carriage in a predetermined position.

5. In an aerial conveyer, a carriage consisting of two spaced side plates, a knucklemember pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates and formed with a hook for supporting a load, toggle-members connected at one end to said plates and at their other end to said knuckle-member, their intermediate joint adapted to be flexed upon opposite sides of a straight line between their said end connections, and a dog pivoted to one of said toggle members and adapted to engage with a stop to releasably secure said carriage in a predetermined position.

6. In an aerial conveyer, a carriage consisting of a pair of rigidly connected spaced side plates, a knuckle-member pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates and formed with a hook on its underside for supporting a load, a lever pivoted at one end to said knuckle-member, a link pivoted at Copies of this patent may be obtained for one end to said plates and at its other end to said lever, the pivot point of said lever and link being adapted to be flexed upon opposite sides of a straight line through their other pivot points, interengageable stops on said link and lever to limit the movement of said lever and link to secure the hook of said knuckle-member in loadsupporting position, and a dog pivoted to said lever and adapted to engage a stop upon the trackway cable to releasably secure the carriage at the limit of its travel in one direction.

7 In an aerial conveyer, a carriage consisting of a pair of rigidly connected spaced side plates, a knuckle-member pivotally connected to oscillate between said plates and formed with a hook on its underside for supporting a load, a lever pivoted at one end to said knuckle-member, a link pivoted at one end to said plates and at its other end to said lever, the pivot point of said lever and link being adapted to be flexed upon opposite sides of a straight line through their other pivot points, interengageable stops on said link and said lever to limit the movement of said lever and link to secure the hook of said knuckle-member in load-supporting position, a dog pivoted to said lever and adapted to engage a stop upon the trackway cable to releasably secure the carriage at the limit of its travel in one direction, and a hook upon said knucklemember adapted to engage a second stop upon the trackway cable to releasably secure the carriage at the limit of its travel in the opposite direction.

Signed at Seattle, Wash, this 28th day of November, 1913.

ROBERT WADDELL.

Witnesses HORACE BARNES, E. PETERSON.

five cents each,- by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

